Old farmer earns 15 billion VND per year from growing durian

Mr. Diep next to his family's billion-dollar durian garden

• HAS THE EFFICIENCY TO SHARPEN IRON...

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hong Diep (52 years old) considers himself a person with little education and a real old farmer. He only finished 6th grade, but his experience and techniques in growing a valuable tree like durian are unmatched; to date, he has spent more than 30 years growing durian.

According to the story, Mr. Diep was born and raised in Tan Phu district (Dong Nai province). His family has a long history of growing fruit trees such as rambutan and jackfruit. In the 90s of the last century, Mr. Diep came to Ha Lam commune, Da Huoai district and realized that this land was suitable for industrial crops and fruit trees. This prompted him to dream of investing, with the dream of getting rich. At that time, in Ha Lam commune, people mainly grew cashew and coffee, so their lives were just enough to eat. Meanwhile, durian was considered a suitable crop for the climate and soil, but people only grew durian seeds on a small scale.

In 1994, after saving up some money, Mr. Diep went to Ha Lam commune to buy 1 hectare of garden land and started to renovate and grow coffee. To increase his income, Mr. Diep and his wife planted more vegetables and raised more chickens. “I had been in Ha Lam for about 5 years when DONA - TECHNO Biotechnology Development Joint Stock Company introduced grafted durian varieties from Thailand such as DONA and Ri6 to the people. The grafted durian varieties were introduced to bring productivity and quality many times higher than seed durian. At that time, I thought to myself that each durian tree only needed to generate an income of 1 million VND/crop to be rich. Therefore, I registered to buy grafted durian varieties to try planting on an area of ​​1 hectare intercropped with coffee,” Mr. Diep confided.

Although intercropped in coffee gardens, thanks to the suitable climate and soil, durian trees grow very well. After 4 years, the durian trees yielded harvests and the income brought to his family was many times higher than that of coffee trees. This prompted him to expand the area of ​​grafted durian. From here, most people in Ha Lam commune started planting grafted durian to build this place into the "capital" of durian trees in Lam Dong province. Mr. Diep said: "Starting in 2006, every year I spent the income from the durian garden to buy garden land. Wherever I bought, I renovated and planted grafted durian varieties. Just like that, not long after, my family's durian area increased exponentially. In 2017 alone, I did not buy garden land because I had to spend 5 billion VND to build a house."

• DURIAN BILLIONAIRE

After many efforts and attempts with the belief that "where there is a will, there is a way", up to now, Mr. Nguyen Minh Hong Diep's family owns a specialized durian production area of ​​24 hectares, of which more than 90% are DONA durian varieties, the rest are Ri6 varieties. The entire durian area of ​​Mr. Diep's family is systematically invested in the direction of high-tech VietGAP with automatic irrigation systems and drones for spraying pesticides. Mr. Diep's durian garden is also granted a growing area code for export.

Sharing about revenue from durian, Mr. Diep confided: “From 2020 to now, on average, each year my family's 24 hectares of durian supply the market with more than 200 tons of durian and bring in revenue of 13 - 15 billion VND/year. In 2024 alone, my family will earn more than 16 billion VND from durian”. Not only enriching his family, he also creates regular jobs for 10 local workers, with a stable income of 9 - 12 million VND/person/month. Currently, Mr. Diep is also a pioneer member of the "Billionaire Farmers" Club of Da Huoai district.

Mr. Dang Huy Bo - Vice Chairman of the "Billionaire Farmers" Club, said: "The Club currently has 100 members who have an income of 1 billion VND or more from growing durian. Of which, there are about 5 households with an income of 8 to more than 15 billion VND/year. This is the place to spread and share good, creative and effective ways of producing and trading durian. Aiming for the goal that all durian growing households produce according to VietGAP standards, and are granted growing area codes for export. Among the Club members, Mr. Nguyen Minh Hong Diep's family is one of the pioneers in investing and developing large-scale durian production. Thereby, they have one of the highest incomes in Ha Lam commune today".

Mr. Phan Quang Thuc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Lam commune, said: "Da Huoai is confirmed as the "capital" of durian in Lam Dong province, with a durian area of ​​up to more than 10,000 hectares. In which, the commune is the "heart" of the "capital" of durian, with more than 2,300 hectares and 1,800 hectares in the business period, with a yield of 12 - 13 tons/year. Thanks to durian trees, the people of Ha Lam commune are having an average income of over 110 million VND/person/year. Of which, rich households account for more than 70%, the rest are well-off households. To help farmers in Da Huoai district in general and Ha Lam commune in particular feel secure in production, we really hope that the People's Committee of Lam Dong province will coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to build a branch of the durian quality inspection center in the locality to serve export in the upcoming crop season".

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202503/lao-nong-thu-15-ty-dong-moi-nam-tu-trong-sau-rieng-33f0c59/